A CELEBRITY magician from the dale has been at the heart of national efforts to mark 100 years since the first performance of magic’s most iconic illusion – sawing a woman in half.
The trick was first performed in front of an audience by Percy Thomas Tibbles on January 17, 1921, and a century on news media across the country turned to Butterknowle illusionist Danny Hunt to highlight its significance. Among those to interview the magician, who is a consultant on hit television shows including Houdini and Doyle, and Sherlock, were BBC News 24 and BBC 5 Live.
Of the stunt, Mr Hunt said: “He [Percy Thomas Tibbles] created that illusion and it completely changed the way magicians would perform.
“He created lots of other illusions, but this illusion seemed to catch the attention of the audiences back then – and of course it continues to catch the attention of audiences today. He is a huge influence on magicians and creating illusions and magic. That illusion of sawing a woman in half has just become iconic.
“It was a massive game-changer. The greatest illusionist or magician of all time, David Copperfield, does a wonderful version using a giant circular saw.”
Mr Hunt first performed the act aged 14 during a magic show he staged at Butterknowle Village Hall to raise cash for the Tae Kwondo martial arts club he was a member of.
His first victim was his instructor, Master Bryan Whiley.
The 43-year-old said: “I remember the nerves of that day – I remember being at school and sitting down for lunch and not eating because I felt incredibly sick, but then there was that moment of complete excitement when the show was finished and was just so pleased with how it had gone.” Since turning professional after leaving Staindrop Comprehensive he has performed the trick thousands of times on his show partner and fiance Steph Clarke during live shows across the country and on cruise ships.
Mr Hunt said: “Steph has been cut in half on luxury cruise ships from one side of the world to the other. We toured with Sir Ken Dodd, the comedian, for about ten years, so Steph has been cut in half in some of the most beautiful theatres in the country.”
The couple, who operate as Amethyst Magic, earned celebrity status by appearing on a number of television shows such as CBBC’s Help My Supply Teacher Is Magic, Channel 5’s Up Late With Rylan, BBC’s The Magicians and BBC 3’s Killer Magic. They are also the minds behind some of the more daring stunts on BBC's Sherlock, Fox TV’s Houdini and Doyle.
Mr Hunt said: “I think the producers of these shows think I have a bit of a strange mind because whenever they want to kill someone they will ask me about a unusual way of killing them off. I don’t know if that is a compliment or something I should worry about.”
While the Covid-19 pandemic has put paid to their shows and cruise ship work, the couple have kept themselves busy by converting a room at their home into a studio to produce online shows, both for public viewing and for some of their corporate clients. They also host weekly online sessions for Neptune Magic Society, which they set up several years ago to teach their trade to young people aged between seven and 18.
Mr Hunt said: “Potentially these young magicians are the future of our art and one of the first questions we get from these young magicians is ‘when can we cut someone in half’, so it’s still obviously playing on their minds, which is brilliant.”
